codamedia

When I updated my Helix.... when that message appeared on the Helix there was a dialog that appeared on the computer in order to continue. All I had to do was choose to continue and it went along it's merry way and finished. IIRC... the message on the computer even included "ignore the error message on the device"... I honestly couldn't see how they could have made it any more obvious! NOW... IF THAT MESSAGE on the computer falls behind an open window, or is minimized to the task bar... you won't know it exists and you will sit there forever waiting.

I just loaded up your preset.... IMO it wasn't too bad, just a little "shrill" for lack of a better word. Here is what I suggest with that preset... Remove the EQ at the end of the chain (or at least turn it off to test) Go to the CAB section of the amp.... Change the MIC from a 57 to the 121 Change the distance to about 3".... maybe a little further That change of mic and distance will warm up the sound substantially.... the EQ should NOT be needed.

I know that "free" appears to be the budget you are after, but FYI.... if you own a Stomp, you can get Native for $100. Not only does it have full Helix capabilities, it also works great as a conversion tool. Now... I also know you likely don't want to hear this, but presets rarely work! Nobody owns your fingers, your technique, your guitar, your taste, your monitor setup, etc... The best thing you can do is learn how your hero's setup their gear, then create your own presets! The sample you posted of Exodus... is that Gary Holt? If so... look no further than a Marshall Plexi jump, push it hard with a boost or overdrive of choice in front of it then throw an LA Studio Comp after the amp/cab to smooth it all out. The 2204 MOD Model could likely get you there without the added boost but the tone might not be as rich.

Yes... but the bigger units also have two processors with their own paths so you can distribute the DSP power accordingly. Yes... seriously! If you are running the amps in parallel is it safe to assume you are using "stereo" versions the effects prior to it? If so... you might gain a little more DSP by changing those to MONO version... if that is an option. There are many variables... but the short answer is yes, different amps use different amounts of horsepower. Here is a three tab Excel Speadsheet someone posted a while back.... it's a guesstimate, but may give you an idea of the amount of DSP each amp/effect uses. Keep in mind it is not up to date with the 2.8 firmware. Helix DSP Values.xlsx

Speaker choice is 50% of your tone.... The Fender uses a Eminence Design but I really don't know the specs. Even more... I don't have a clue what the Laney is emulating beyond a 112 or 412 option. My point is... if the Fender uses an Eminence and the Laney is modeling a Celestion you are off to a bad start if you want to get the tone the same. You "might" have better luck if you set the Laney to FRFR and use cabinet emulation from the Stomp where you have more options. As for Amps... the Supersonic 22 is a special beast. It can cover a lot of tonal ground so it would depend on what you are doing with it. It can cover Fender/Vox/Marshall... all really well. I know you say "distorted tones" but that can also cover all the amp styles. Is there a specific sound (artist/song) that you lean toward with the Fender Supersonic. Knowing the tone you are after might assist people in helping you dial in the Stomp.

When I first bought a SansAmp back in the early 90's... I knew amps sims were in their infancy. When I bought an original bean POD in '99... I knew amp modeling was in it's infancy. When I bought an X3 Live... I got more flexibility, but I didn't feel the modeling had progressed much (if at all) since the original POD When I bought an HD500.... I felt empty. Some improvements but many, many losses. Up to that point in time, I KNEW I was dealing with products that would become obsolete! This wasn't limited to the L6 family... the offerings from BOSS/Roland, Zoom, Digitech, etc.. were all in the same boat. Enter the HELIX and the next generation of modelers (Helix, Fractal, Kemper Profiling, etc...) As soon as I got my Helix I had a completely different feeling than all other units. The modeling had matured... both with the amps and the effects, and the flexibility was also there. It was no longer a technology in it's infancy... it had grown up! Sure, there will be a new model at some point, but I do not believe it will render this era obsolete. The BF Fenders did not render the Tweeds obsolete The Marshall JCM line did not render the 1959/1987 (aka... plexi) obsolete A modern custom shop Strat does not render a "50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's" Strat obsolete A modern TS-808 does not render any older Tube screamer obsolete. That's where I believe modeling is now at! As long as this era of Helix (and other modelers/profiling) is still running they will be useful products! Sure, they might become shy a feature or two, but it will continue to hold it's own in regards to tone and flexibility. Just my 2 cents...

One must be careful with this approach... unless they know exactly what they are dealing with. All PA's are not created equal, a high quality PA is made to project.... they sound every bit as clear at 200' - 300' ft as they do at 20'. This approach may force the tech to attenuate the high end substantially at the FOH. IMO... I think your approach is very solid advice when you have to fill the room with your guitar.... I'm just not sure I agree when there is a "quality PA" in use. Of course... you know your situations, I know mine - they are not necessarily the same :)

Trying to adjust your tone from BEHIND the FOH (eg: on the stage) would be a mistake... but that's where calling it a mistake ends. IMO, until you hear your guitar from the FOH you don't know how your guitar is translating to the audience. Guitar players get hung up with how it sounds "to them, on stage" and hope for the best when it comes to getting the tone to the crowd. I take the opposite approach... get that tone to the crowd, then compensate for myself. IME... I don't suffer on stage by doing it this way... not one little bit. On big shows/tours I use the stage monitors (or IEM's).. they are always high quality and give me a great representation of what the FOH is doing. On smaller shows I'll use an FRFR to fill the stage, and sometimes even the room itself when the PA (FOH) is vocal only. When I have to fill the room (ie: no guitar in the FOH)... I make sure it sounds good "in the room" then live with that tone on the stage... NOT the other way around.

There is a lot of coverage in that simple package.... IMO, it's a great place to start. That said... there is no "BEST"... IR's are just about options and we will all prefer something a little different from each other. You may want a mic placed directly at the center, I may want a mic placed 4" toward the edge and off axis. IR packages give you all these options. Learn the lingo... understand the lingo. Once you do, the hundreds (or even thousands) of IR options included in each package begin to make sense.

Upvoted... I'm all for more options.

IMO... I can't imagine "accidentally" adjusting the helix during live use. The large volume knob getting caught by a cable is about the only thing I can think of, which is easy to disable as outlined by Digital_Igloo above. The Helix doesn't have "auto save" so even if you did inadvertently kick a knob into oblivion a simple recall of the preset clears it. That said... there are times when the touch buttons become too sensitive (I assume it's humidity conditions), and my feet (always in shoes) would set them off in unexpected ways. Easy fix.... I leave "touch" turned off, and only turn it on when I am doing a lot of editing. I'm not against having such a feature... especially if it solves a problem for others. I just can''t see myself ever having this problem.

This is an old thread so any solutions here (version numbers and such) are irrelevant. Here are a few things to try... When the Helix starts, look at the screen to see the firmware number... then download and install THAT version of HX Edit and/or corresponding drivers. The two need to match. Do not connect through a hub... connect directly to the computer through a "back USB port" (fronts are usually internal hubs). If it still doesn't work, try a different USB port and/or different USB cable. Once you get it to start... if you don't have the latest firmware update you should perform that operation. Of course, you can't do that until you can get it to connect consistently.

Absolutely... If my DAW (studio one) had the stereo pan option (without a plug in) I would probably use stereo tracks more often.

Insert a Stereo audio track in SONAR On that track, enable the two Helix inputs that will be used.... (eg: choose the stereo USB inputs) The single track will record both the LEFT and RIGHT so they can be controlled on a single strip. If you add any plugins, make sure they are the STEREO version or the track will collapse to mono. If you send the track to a BUS... make sure it is a stereo bus, not mono. I prefer to capture left and right on separate tracks, but that's just my preference. On a stereo track the PAN becomes a balance (level only) between the left and right, while a mono PAN precisely positions the track in the mix. I don't often want hard left/right... I like to soften those a little (eg: 9:00 & 3:00 or 10:00 and 2:00)

DAWS have become more feature rich... and plugin quality has certainly improved over the years, but the core tone of a DAW is no different today as it was 10+ years ago. The specs for digital audio were written many years ago... it has not changed. As stated already... it is likely the way something is setup with your old DAW (settings)... or baked into a template, or added via channel strips and/or plugins. A clean install of that old DAW with ALL old settings completed removed would probably sound every bit as good as any modern DAW.

A BOSS KATANA is NOT an FRFR, it's a modeling amp. You already have a VOX Valvetronix+ 50W... the Katana is a similar product. I have nothing against the Katana but IMO it would be a bottleneck for the Helix platform. If you bought an LT you already have a few ways to monitor it until you can research and afford a better FRFR solution. Use the same speaker you are using for your current BOSS setup If the VOX has an effect return or power amp in... turn off the cab modeling on the Helix and plug into that If the VOX has a "flat amp option" like the Katana does, you can just use that - or at least try it. If the VOX doesn't have a return or "flat amp" option... plug into the front end and experiment with the "pre-amp"models in the Helix instead of full amps.

Why bother with the Katana? They aren't bad, but the modeling is NOT up to the L6 level (IMO). You already have a decent amp for when you need an amp! If you put the money saved from a Katana along with the money saved from an Effects or Stomp you are getting close to the cost of an LT. Find a way to get the LT then focus on upgrading the amp/monitor situation in the future. (just my suggestion)

It is nothing you have to worry about. Exact consumption, I have no idea - but I doubt it's more than 1amp... maybe a little more at start up. If 60 watts is an accurate number, then that is well under 1 amp. The amount of gear you are listing is no match for a 15A circuit.

There is a few suggestions for "quicker access" to the tuner on Ideascale (line6.ideascale.com). You could upvote one of those, and/or create something more specific for your needs and ask people to upvote that. IMO... having the ability to put the tuner on any footswitch is my favorite idea... although idea is for the Helix, it should also apply for the HX Effects. https://line6.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Assign-Helix-Tuner-to-any-footswitch/942191-23508 Having the options to disable TAP and just make that an instant tuner button wouldn't be a bad idea either :)

That will be difficult with the Helix... There is nothing directly similar "that I know of". IMO... I'd reach for the Hiwatt / Fane cabinet... it's about the closest I can think of. They are more full range than normal cabs, but not as much as EV loaded cabs. That's kind of the grey area the Scropions live in as well.

FIRST: That is how most modern strats are wired... excluding anything with humbuckers or noiseless pickups. That's how they work! On many (not all) strats, the middle pickup is reverse wound... when combined with any other pickup (position 2 and 4) it becomes a humbucker... on their own, they are single coils and are subject to noise! When the middle pickup is NOT reverse wound... every position is subject to making noise. I doubt the HX Effects is causing the noise... it is just making it more noticeable - either through gain structure (including overdrive/distortion), compression or EQ. It is the GUITAR that is the source of the noise, the effects are enhancing it! This would happen with any pedal board!

^^^ this ^^^ I would push the 2204 model with a kinky boost to increase the Marshalls gain even further... then as you say, back off the mids a little. The Macintosh power amp would have been very transparent compared to the power section on a JCM800... you might find running the 2204 PRE AMP directly into the 4x12 Basketweave Cabinet (eliminating the power section of the amp) to be a little more authentic. That's just a thought based on the setup, I have not tried it myself. I would avoid any attempt at the Sonic Maximizer... there is a reason there is no model for one inside the Helix :) (just my half-joking opinion) If you really want to try something.... throw the "Modulation > Legacy > Dimension" after the cabinet.... set all "SW" controls to OFF then adjust the mix to taste.

Which is precisely why I ask that question! It forces people to realize the current hardware isn't a bottleneck... Not unless they feel they can't program anything without a touch screen - LOL!

I don't disagree, but that's why I ask this in the same post. "So to anyone that asks when the next Helix is coming out I ask this question. What is "missing" from the Flagship models (Helix Floor, Helix Rack/Controller) that keeps you from buying one?" I'll add two hardware changes that I wouldn't mind... but neither would stop me from buying today! More processing power Maybe (a big maybe)... a touchscreen. My "software wishlist" is longer, but I don't believe I should require a "new Helix" to run any of my wishes. (processing power being the only caveat I can think of)

IMO... ^^^ this^^^ is the most important fact regarding the Helix Line at this current time. They wouldn't have done this if they were planning on moving on in the very near future. People think of the Helix as hardware... but it's the software that does everything. The hardware choice you make dictates the quantity of foot switches and I/O options... that's it! Any other limit or change is software, and Line 6 has shown a commitment to keep that moving forward. So to anyone that asks when the next Helix is coming out I ask this question. What is "missing" from the Flagship models (Helix Floor, Helix Rack/Controller) that keeps you from buying one? Slightly off topic... but IMO Line 6 has done an incredible job with the Helix line both in terms of hardware design and software UI. Has anyone else noticed that every modeler released since 2015 looks and acts suspiciously "like" the Helix?